Warm-up drill: This is a rematch of the "Brandon Paul Game" from last season. On that night, little-known Illinois guard Paul poured in 43 points in an upset of the Buckeyes at Assembly Hall, one of the best performances from any player in the nation all season. That win was supposed to launch Illinois' push to the NCAA Tournament; instead, it was the pinnacle of a tortuous season for the Illini, who lost 12 of their last 14 games to get coach Bruce Weber fired. There should be no precipitous crash for the Illini this season, though their Big Ten-opening loss to a barely .500 Purdue team Wednesday wasn't exactly a harbinger of great things to come.

Inside stat: .432 — The effective field-goal percentage for Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft this season. The primary criticism of Craft, an unquestioned elite perimeter defender, has been his inability to contribute to the offense. Instead of improving his shooting in his junior season, he has regressed significantly — his eFG as a freshman was .535 and as a sophomore, it was .550. Ohio State can't win consistently on the road in the rugged Big Ten unless Craft improves.

Warm-up drill: The Hoyas' only loss was in overtime against Indiana, everyone's preseason No. 1 team. Georgetown has beaten UCLA, Texas and Tennessee, three good-not-great teams, and a bunch of cupcakes. Opening Big East play at Marquette — the Hoyas' first true road game, after eight at home and three at neutral sites — will be a challenge. Buzz Williams' teams incite a level of chaos with its defensive intensity, especially when playing at home.

Inside stat: 312, 318 — The national rankings for Georgetown and Marquette, respectively, in 3-point attempts this season. This game will be decided inside the arc.

Warm-up drill: The Cowboys and Wildcats will spend the season trying to establish themselves as the second-best team in the Big 12 (behind Kansas, of course), and this game will give one of these talented squads a bit of a head start. Under Frank Martin, K-State's Bramlage Coliseum was a frightful place for opponents. New coach Bruce Weber hopes to continue that tradition.

Warm-up drill: Both teams have NCAA Tournament talent, but both need quality wins after so-so non-conference showings. Both teams have played Missouri — not that common opponents are indicative of future results. The Cardinal lost to Mizzou in the Bahamas on Nov. 22, and the Bruins made a memorable comeback to beat the Tigers in overtime on Dec. 28.

Inside stat: 23.2 — The scoring average for UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad over his past five games, on 51.9 percent shooting from the field.

Warm-up drill: It's the nation's leading scorer (Lehigh guard C.J. McCollum at 25.7 points per game) against the nation's most disruptive defense (VCU is causing 21.4 turnovers per game). This should be an entertaining game, so long as McCollum's teammates can do enough to help keep the ball away from the Rams’ ballhawking defenders.

Inside stat: 37.1 — The percentage of Lehigh's shots McCollum takes when on the court, which ranks third in the country.

Overtime

North Carolina at Virginia, Sunday, 8 p.m. (ESPNU). The Tar Heels ended non-conference portion of the season with a huge win over UNLV. Now, they must carry that momentum into what promises to be a slow-tempo road game against a solid Cavaliers squad.

No. 24 Pitt at Rutgers, Saturday, 11 a.m. (ESPN2). The Panthers lost at home to Cincinnati on New Year's Eve to open Big East play, and with a trip to No. 15 Georgetown coming on Tuesday, they can't really afford to drop this one against Rutgers, which is 9-3 against a soft schedule.

No. 13 Florida at Yale, Sunday, 5:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Network). You don't see a big-time program like Florida play road games at Ivy League schools often. That’s plenty of reason to tune into this contest.

Northwestern at No. 9 Minnesota, Sunday, 7 p.m. (Big Ten Network). Hey, the Northwestern football team won a bowl game for the first time since 1949, so maybe this is the year the basketball team finally gets into the NCAA Tournament. A road win against a good Minnesota team would be a huge step in that direction.

No. 10 Gonzaga at Santa Clara. Saturday, 8 p.m. (Root). Don't dismiss the Broncos. They beat Saint Louis early, and of their three losses, two came in overtime and the other one was at No. 1 Duke. They’re probably not going to beat Gonzaga, but expect them to stick around for a long while.

Bucknell at No. 12 Missouri, Saturday, 4 p.m. (Fox Sports Midwest, espn3.com). This one's worth watching to see Bucknell's Mike Muscala, who sits at sixth in the kenpom.com player of the year rankings. Muscala is 6-11 senior who is averaging 18.9 points and 10.7 rebounds. He will face his biggest test of the season against Missouri's front line.

Colorado at Arizona State, Sunday, 8 p.m. (Pac-12 Network). Colorado's controversial overtime loss at Arizona on Thursday served notice that the Buffaloes, after an up-and-down non-conference season, have what it takes to compete with the Pac-12's best. Of course, winning at Arizona State — which is 12-2 and led by redshirt freshman Jahii Carson (17.5 points, 5.6 assists per game) — won't be easy.